How to Prepare for a Paint Spraying Session

Firstly, you will need to clear your work area. If you’re working indoors, remove everything you do not want painted from the room. If you’re outside, move items such as furniture and cars a distance no less than 20 feet from your house.

If you find that there is something you can’t move, cover it with some kind of plastic sheeting or cloth. Airless sprayers can create a great deal of dust when used inside, so ensure that your protected items are completely covered.

Now, mask off your windows. If you haven’t got one already, buy one hand masker to ensure that you will be able to apply paper, plastic and masking tape all at once. Should you not have one of these maskers, simply tape newspaper on to your window glass.

If you only wish to paint a room’s ceilings, you will need to protect all of a room’s walls. Buy a plastic roll with sticky tape on the top. Affix the tape to the top of your wall and allow the plastic to fall to the floor. Depending on where you are painting, you may need to remove items like switch plates, house numbers or lights from your wall.

Now, protect your floor with drop cloths. If you are using a fairly large paint sprayer (as opposed to one that is hand-held), you will need to set the sprayer up on your drop cloths. Even if you have just opened a new paint can, strain the paint into a large bucket. If you do not already have a strainer, use a pantyhose

Finally, read the paint manufacturer’s label directions. You may find that you need to thin the paint if you are planning on spraying it, and other paint types may need flushing. Remember to always follow the manufacturer’s directions.